
Govt taking inputs from IndiGo, security agencies: Aviation ministry on airline operating leased Turkish Airlines planes
On May 15, aviation security watchdog BCAS revoked the security clearance for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd in the "interest of national security", days after Turkiye backed Pakistan and condemned India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country.

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India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Turkey president Erdogan issues shocking order, asks Turkish people to give birth to...
President Erdogan becomes Turkey's new dictator, puts opposition leaders...., ready to change… After the 'Boycott Turkey' campaign, Erdoğan is now grappling with a new crisis. The population of Turkey is consistently decreasing, and the Turkish women's low birth rate has emerged as a huge concern for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Declining birth rates are now being perceived as a threat larger than war. To address this, the Turkish government has launched several measures to promote childbirth and has announced 2025 as the 'Year of the Family.' Last month, Erdoğan stated that the 'Decade of Family' would be starting in 2026. However, his appeal for women to have at least three children and the financial incentives offered to newlyweds may not be enough, as Turkey continues to struggle with a deepening economic crisis. According to the AFP report, Official statistics indicate that Turkey's birth rate has dropped from 2.38 children per woman in 2001 to 1.48 in 2025, which is actually below that of France, the UK, or the US. Erdoğan, a 71-year-old Islamist president and father of four himself, has described this drop as 'a disaster'. Over his 22-year period of office as Prime Minister and subsequently President of the nation of 85 million, Erdoğan has seen the fertility rate fall sharply. He has attributed this to women as well as the LGBTQ community. According to the AFP report, President Erdogan has blamed both women and LGBTQ 'perverts'. Retired academic and feminist activist Berrin Sönmez was quoted as saying by AFP,'Women and LGBTQ individuals are considered the only culprits for the declining population growth rate, with no acknowledgement of political mistakes.'


Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Why India-Turkey aviation connect has long been jinxed
Last week, with hours to the IATA AGM in Delhi with IndiGo being the host airline, the government told IndiGo about its 'last and final' extension for the Turkish Airlines B777s, which IndiGo has in its fleet and operates to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai. India cancelled the licence of Celebi, a ground handling agency with a Turkish stake, citing security issues. The issues started after Turkey actively supported Pakistan with military hardware and other means during Operation Sindoor. The clamour for breaking ties with Turkish entities was strong since then for both IndiGo and the Air India group. IndiGo has planes from Turkish Airlines, and both IndiGo and the Air India group utilise the services of Turkish Technic, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) arm. In December 2018, IndiGo and Turkish Airlines announced a codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement. This was the first codeshare for IndiGo, after which the airline has expanded this arrangement with multiple airlines from across the world. The flights began on January 1, 2019, subsequently increasing to double daily from Delhi. Within weeks, the Balakot strike took place and Pakistan shut its airspace, leading to a very long detour and a stop for IndiGo, which went on until July that year. No sooner had things become normal, exceptionally high headwinds that year led to the airline being in the news again with baggage being left behind to cater to additional fuel or lower weight. The winter of 2019 never transitioned to the summer of 2020 as the world went into a lockdown due to the pandemic. As flights restarted across the world, starting February 2023, IndiGo inducted a Turkish Airlines B777 to fly on its behalf as a damp lease to Istanbul from Delhi. This was augmented by another in May 2023 to fly between Mumbai and Istanbul. Air India was taken over by the Tata group in January 2022. Within a month of this, the airline's first big decision was to appoint a new CEO, which was Ilker Ayci, the former CEO of Turkish Airlines. Within weeks, Ayci cited negative media attention and refused to join as multiple groups started opposing Ayci's appointment citing his past record and proximity to the ruling dispensation in Turkey which had been pro-Pakistan even then. Campbell Wilson, the CEO and MD of Air India, has indicated that the company is looking for options to shift its maintenance needs from Turkish Technic to other options. These could be expensive and hard to come by since slots at MROs are also facing issues due to supply chain constraints. In case of Air India, it could have an option of relying on the government-owned entity AIESL or equity partner Singapore Airlines' facilities in Singapore. As for IndiGo, the challenges are bigger with the government directive. The airline is expected to induct five more 787-9 Dreamliners from now until the early parts of 2026. It remains unclear when the airspace over Pakistan will be available for use by Indian carriers. The flight to Turkey will not only be long, but it will also be one-stop on the narrowbody aircraft. Will it deploy the 787s, which it is getting, or will it go ahead with the deployment plans, which it had chalked out? A lot will depend on how the loads shape up for the future. When the Ilker Ayci controversy erupted, the writing was pretty much clear on the wall; yet IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India continued doing business with entities in Turkey in one way or another. Nobody had anticipated that events would lead up to Operation Sindoor and Turkey would openly support Pakistan in the manner in which it did. The repercussions are for all to suffer. It is not that only the Indian entities will be impacted, since Turkish carriers like Corendon have been providing damp lease services to Indian carriers. Will things change in the future? Current indications are that they won't with Celebi's staff already accommodated by other companies and more players planning to enter the segment. Likewise, permissions for wet/damp-leased planes from Turkey will be hard to come by. Lastly, the public sentiments are harsh and brands generally evaluate those before taking commercial calls, especially in the current case where issues of national security are being discussed.


Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
With Suheldev pitch, BJP plans to upend Oppn's PDA narrative
1 2 Lucknow: CM Yogi Adityanath's proposed visit to Bahraich on June 10 to attend an SBSP-backed 'Shaurya Mela' marking the victory of Maharaja Suheldev over Syed Salar Masood, the general of Turkish invader Mahmud Ghaznavi in the battle of Bahraich in 1034 AD could potentially swing the arc lights back on BJP-led NDA's renewed attempts to nudge the opposition's Pichhda, Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA) poll narrative which is said to have dented the saffron outfit in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Sources said that SBSP chief and UP minister OP Rajbhar has also approached PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the fair virtually, a move that could further heighten the clamour around the event. The fair in the name of Suheldev has attained much significance against the backdrop of Bahraich district administration cancelling the 'Jeth Mela' at the shrine of Salar Masood citing law and order on account of Pahalgam attack and communal tensions in Sambhal. The event is scheduled to be organised around the Suheldev memorial constructed on the banks of Chittaura lake. Suheldev is considered the presiding deity of Rajbhar community which has a sizable presence in the east UP districts. Invocation of Suheldev by BJP and its allies is not the only case in point. The saffron outfit has been invoking a host of key historical figures from the OBC community strategically in the run-up to the panchayat elections due next year and subsequently the high stakes UP assembly elections in 2027. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo It was only recently when the BJP organized a series of programmes to mark 300th birth centenary of Ahilyabai Holkar, a Maratha queen of Malwa kingdom who ruled from Indore. Notably, she belonged to the Dhangar caste, traditionally associated with shepherding and pastoralism. This caste is predominantly found essentially in the west UP and Braj region districts like Mainpuri, Hathras, Agra, Aligarh, Etah and Mathura. The community, not surprisingly, is wooed by multiple political outfits including Samajwadi Party, BSP and Congress. A senior BJP leader said that Holkar besides being an OBC face was highlighted for taking significant steps in preserving temples – a narrative which helps the BJP relay signals vis-à-vis its trademark Hindutva ideology. In September 2021, months before the 2022 assembly elections, the Yogi Adityanath government got a state university in the name of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, a Jat, in Aligarh, inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi. This was years after the BJP concerted pitch to rename Aligarh Muslim University in the name of Raja, who is said to have donated the land for construction of the university. Experts said that the move to set up a university in the name of Raja marked BJP's strategic measure keeping in mind the Jat population of Aligarh and its surrounding regions. Likewise, in 2022, CM Yogi announced to rename the Agra museum after Gokula Jat, also known simply as Gokul or Gokul Singh, a prominent 17th-century Jat leader from Tilpat (present-day Faridabad district, Haryana). He is remembered for leading one of the earliest organized peasant rebellions against the Mughal Empire during the reign of Aurangzeb. Gokula Jat is remembered in Jat and OBC political narratives, especially in western UP and Haryana. The BJP has also, over the past decade, increasingly invoked Dalit icons such as Sant Ravidas and BR Ambedkar as part of its broader political and social strategy. The engagement is seen as a significant shift from the party's earlier image of being an upper-caste-dominated force to the one which is attempting to reshape its social base and expand its appeal among Dalits and other marginalized communities. The BJP has celebrated Ravidas birth anniversary at state and national levels, often with participation from top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi. Likewise, the party has made Ambedkar an institutional icon, often highlighting his role in shaping modern India.